Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(24)

Addison relaxed slightly with that. “Okay. Thanks. And it’s me, not you. You know that, right?”

“I definitely know that,” Elena said with a nod.

Addison actually laughed at that. “Okay, so what did you come in here to show me?” Addison asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from the topic of how no one was good enough for her daughter. Probably even Addison.

Elena reached for another praline, but she held up the long cylindrical tube she’d brought in.

“I have a few plans for Trahan’s Tavern, but I’m not sure about the front windows.”

Even the mention of Gabe’s last name sent a shiver of awareness through Addison. “Sure, I’m happy to take a look.”

Elena unrolled the plans, and they spent the next few minutes discussing options for the front of the tavern as well as the ceiling and the inner doorways. Addison loved all the plans. Sure, she would have loved to be directly involved, but that was complicated. And Elena really was doing a beautiful job.

“When does the work start?” Addison asked as Elena returned the plans to the canister.

“Two weeks,” Elena said with a smile. “We’ll be working mostly in the morning so that we can avoid their busy times. We won’t need to shut the tavern down entirely for a few weeks, and then we hope to be able to get it all done in a few days.”

“That’s great. I’m sure Gabe and Logan appreciate that.”

Elena tipped her head. “He hasn’t said anything about the work?”

Addison forced a smile. “Gabe and I haven’t spoken since the day he was here for the initial meeting.”

“Ah.” Elena looked sympathetic. “I hope I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“No. It was time to end things. It’s easier that way.”

Elena nodded. “How about we grab dinner? And maybe a couple of drinks? I’m a good listener.”

Addison appreciated the gesture. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I need to pick up Stella.”

“Oh, right. It’s so weird that you have a kid and I didn’t even know,” Elena said.

Addison nodded. “It does change my schedule up a bit.”

“I can imagine.” Elena didn’t make it sound like a good thing.

“But I promise I’ll always be available for client meetings and such.”

“I know,” Elena told her. “Just not for fun, right?” She gave Addison a smile.

Addison tried to return it but couldn’t quite. “Just a different kind of fun.”

“Right.” Elena clearly didn’t believe her.

Yeah, Addison probably needed some single-parent friends.

So, three days later, Addison was sitting with a cup of coffee in a circle of chairs with an eclectic but warm group of people who were happy to have her. Even though none of them knew who would have sent her a welcome basket of pralines.

That was odd, but Addison figured there must be a few people missing tonight. So far she’d met only nine members. There was Roxanne, a thirty-five-year-old divorcée with three kids, and Bea, a sixty-year-old who was raising her two grandsons, since her daughter had embezzled money from her employer and was now in prison for the next five years. There were also the two young girls—Lexi, who was seventeen with a three-month-old at home, and Ashley, the nineteen-year-old who had a little boy who was six months. The other two women were clearly very good friends, as they sat together, talking quietly. Dana and Lindsey were both twenty-seven, and each had two kids. Lindsey’s husband was deployed to the Middle East with the army, and Dana’s husband, Chad, had been with the same unit and had been killed in Iraq a year ago. And then there were the three men of the group. Caleb was thirty and was raising his sister’s daughter after she and her husband had been killed in a car accident. Austin was twenty-five and had an ex-wife and partial custody of his twin girls. And Corey was forty and had lost his wife to cancer, leaving him alone with four kids.

Addison didn’t know who had sent the gift basket and invitation, but she was grateful to whoever it was. She already felt optimistic about meeting these people and hearing their stories. Surely in this group there was one other person who wasn’t supermom or -dad and didn’t have it all figured out. Hell, they were in a support group, right? That had to mean they had some doubts.

When it was her turn, Addison took a breath and gave the group a smile. “Well, I’ve never really been a part of a group like this. I just moved here with my daughter, Stella, and we don’t know many people locally. We’re just getting settled, and I got the invitation to the group and thought it would be a great way to meet some new people.”

Just then the door to the community center opened.

And everything suddenly made sense.

Gabe Trahan came striding into the room, big and gorgeous and acting as if he owned the place. Every member of the group greeted him enthusiastically, making it clear that this was hardly his first meeting.

And when his eyes met hers, Addison felt a flutter of butterflies in her stomach. He looked so good. And she’d missed him. God, that was stupid. She’d gone three weeks at a time without seeing him for the past six months. It had been only a little more than a week since their lunch. But she hadn’t planned on seeing him again at all. That had to be why this separation had felt different.